More drama for the Pirate

Ah, matey, the old Pirate, Mike Leach, is waist deep in drama again. So what else is new?

Leach's 10 seasons at Texas Tech were marked by passing records on the field and a soap opera off it. Some of his post-game tirades after losses were high entertainment from a coach who seemed to always be teetering on the edge.

His departure from Tech in 2009 was, of course, filled with controversy. Now at Washington State after a two-year hiatus, things aren't going so well at the Palouse.

WSU's program was moribund before Leach arrived. The Cougars were 4-7 a year ago, but returned a decent nucleus of offensive players. But improvement hasn't happened.

WSU is 2-7, and was hammered, 49-6, Saturday by Utah. The loss dropped the Cougars to 0-6 in the Pac-12.

It was a Leachian performance in the post-game news conference. From Bud Withers, columnist from the Seattle Times:

Asked about the lack of protection for quarterback Jeff Tuel, resulting in six sacks, Leach said, "A part of it's effort, and some of it borders on cowardice...It was one of the most heartless efforts up front I've ever seen. And our D-line wasn't any better."

That was right after he said, "Utah could have beat us by a hundred."

But the proceedings were just beginning. The usual protocol is for media members to request a handful of players for interviews. On this day, a WSU operative said the starting offensive and defensive lines would be out instead, per Leach's directive, not the players requested.

Into a small interview room the huge linemen strode, first the offense, then the defense, much as you might march your kid down the street to apologize to a neighbor.

Then Travis Long, whom Leach has consistently praised for his production and leadership, bolted the defensive group before the session was done. He appeared to have tears in his eyes.

In four decades of covering the conference I've never seen anything like it.

With a losing program, a coach needs to establish newer tougher standards and change the culture. I think anyone gets that.

But in dragging his offensive and defensive lines out to face the media and publicly humiliate, Leach had reportedly lost the team. He lost the 2009 Red Raiders at the end of that season.

Hey, chew out your linemen, make them go 1-on-1 and practice until they can't stand, make the do gassers. But treating them like lepers in a public venue is the quickest way for players to turn on a coach.

Wrote Matt Driscoll, a blogger for Seattleweekly.com.: "Football is known as a tough-guy sport, but Leach's tenure in the Palouse has reached a level of ridiculousness in less than a year that's hard to fathom.

"Dude's a joke -- and a delusional, abusive one at that."

That 11-2 season of 2008 at Tech seems a lot longer than four years ago.